


Stroll

by lutzaussi



Series: One Summer's Day/Always With Me [7]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Chicken Butchering, Food, Gen, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 11:32:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9121615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lutzaussi/pseuds/lutzaussi
Summary: Sasuke knows that he probably spends way too much time thinking about and writing about and making food instead of seeing to his ninja duties, but he doesn't really care.





	

Sasuke sometimes breaks into the secondary house to use the kitchen. Not that the kitchen in the main house is bad, no, he just occasionally needs privacy for the recipes or other food-related things that he’s never tried before and is fairly sure he is going to fuck up.

Case in point: butchering a chicken.

The chicken is dead, but the most that Sasuke has ever butchered is a fish, and he can’t ask Iruka because Iruka and Kakashi disappeared early in the morning and nobody else who is present in the house is useful. For food, at least. Anko can hold her own for most things, but meat is not one of those things.

He gets the feathers off, the feet removed and set aside, and is in the process of breaking the neck bone so he can remove the chicken’s head when Naruto appears. Or, he thinks that’s when Naruto appears. Sasuke will be the first to admit that he is almost too focused when it comes to food.

“Ino’s going to be thrilled that you’re cutting up a bird in her kitchen,” Naruto says, from where he is perched on the table, puzzling over a scroll.

“Mm,” Sasuke frowns with concentration as he pulls the intestines out, setting aside the liver and some of the other organs to keep, “s’not her kitchen, ‘n she’s on a mission anyway. Where did the…” The small, sharp knife that he had been using is gone.

Naruto finds it and gives it to him, takes the opportunity to wrap his arms around Sasuke’s waist and nose his neck.

“Yakitori?” he asks, watching as Sasuke completely removes the intestines and hefts the chicken into sink to rinse it off.

“Mm,” is all Sasuke can muster, his cheeks pink as Naruto continues nuzzling him.

“So that’s why Anko dug the charcoal grill out,” the other boy mutters. He doesn’t let go even as Sasuke sets the chicken back on the counter, shaves the skin off in as much of one piece as he can, then begins removing the legs and wings, dicing the meat as he goes.

They grill the chicken in the courtyard, and it’s cool enough outside that Anko doesn’t complain about overheating as she squats over the charcoal. Sasuke lets her do it because she’s always been a better judge of when barbecue is done. But that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t stand behind her to watch how often she rotates the bamboo kushi. He means to learn through observation if he has to.

Naruto is wrapped around him again, but Sasuke doesn’t complain because he isn’t wearing a jacket and Naruto is  _ warm. _ Anko, to her credit, doesn’t say anything about it, mostly because she’s focused on the food.

They eat in the courtyard as well, because then they won’t have to clean up more than the grill and the pickle containers that Sasuke makes Sakura bring out. It’s just the four of them, because Kakashi and Iruka are still gone, Ibiki has work until relatively late, and Ino and Kiba are both on missions with their genin teams. It almost feels like years before, when it was the three of them most evenings with Iruka or Anko.

Sasuke is beginning to feel very sentimental by the time they do clean up, Anko barking orders before disappearing on a run--and, likely, to pick Ibiki up and get some dango--and the three of them collapsing under the kotatsu when they’re done. Sakura has a book on veterinary medicine that she falls asleep on, while Sasuke scribbles notes on the butchering of the chicken in his food notebook. The most current in a line of leather-bound notebooks that line the top of their dresser. Naruto keeps a warm hand on his back, just under his riding-up shirt, and Sasuke eventually gets so flustered that he packs up his book and pen and drags Naruto up the stairs to their bedroom. Sakura wakes up in time to wolf-whistle after them.

Naruto’s mouthing his neck when they eventually get to their room and roll into their bed, and Sasuke is mostly ready to sleep but Naruto is  _ very  _ insistent.

“Sakura said that you might be getting a genin team,” Sasuke says while Naruto sucks a series of hickeys up his neck.

Naruto almost laughs at that, rolls them so he is laying on top of Sasuke, his arms crossed on the other man’s chest, “The day that Tsunade-baa-san gives me a genin team is the day that she is removed from being Hokage.”

Sasuke shrugs, doesn’t protest when Naruto takes his right hand and laces their fingers, “If Kiba can have a genin team…”

“Well, miracles can happen,” Naruto protests, making himself chuckle as Sasuke tugs him up for another kiss.

“Did you ever think we’d be here?” Sasuke finds himself asking, because sometimes even he is surprised by their lives.

“Mm, here? Laying on top of you?” Naruto asks in return, a fey grin on his face.

“You know what I mean, idiot.” But even the insult is fond, and Sasuke is beginning to flush.

“Hm,” Naruto considers, rubs his nose against the fabric of Sasuke’s shirt, “thirteen--fourteen years ago? Heck no. I thought I was going to get hit over the head with a glass bottle and any more than that was just hope.” Sasuke doesn’t know the history behind that but the instant Naruto says it Sasuke flinches. Naruto rubs circles on the back of Sasuke’s hand with his thumb, continues, unperturbed, “but once ‘tou-san adopted me I stopped trying to think of what the future would be like.”

“Why?” Sasuke can’t help asking.

Naruto pokes his cheek, mutters, “You’re nosy.” And the smile on his face when Sasuke flushes tomato-red is beatific, and he says, “Because I knew that it would be good, not matter what.”

He goes back to rubbing his nose against Sasuke’s shirt, his voice muffled when he asks, “What about you?”

Sasuke can hardly think of words, let alone an answer to the question, but one does come, eventually. “I thought,” he begins, pauses a moment to consider, “I thought I wouldn’t be in Konoha anymore, I’d be hunting down my brother.”

There’s a small frown on Naruto’s face when he looks up, and Sasuke almost feels bad for saying anything until the blond says, “You always were sort of stupid, thinking you could do everything alone.”

Sasuke feels like he should be offended, but he just smiles a little and says, “Yeah, but when I met you and started staying over I realized that you needed someone to look after you. Iruka was being run ragged.”

“He’s related to Anko, of course he’s run ragged,” Naruto rolls his eyes, smiles and leans forward for another kiss, his blue eyes sparkling in an almost mischievous way when he pulls away again, “You thought I needed someone to look after me? You’re only a few months older than me you--” and his eyes go wide and he stops, stares at Sasuke, “--my god you’ve been in love with me since then haven’t you.”

It is like he is on fire and Naruto doesn’t stop staring at him with those wide blue eyes, and--

“Ung!” he squeaks, tugs his hand free of Naruto’s and covers his face. It’s almost too much, because they’ve never really talked about their feelings before and Sasuke has never even  _ thought  _ about it.

Naruto doesn’t seem to mind though, just begins littering kisses all over his hands, humming as they listen to Iruka and Kakashi climbing up the stairs.

And Sasuke realizes somewhere in all that almost-silence that maybe he has been in love since Naruto first dragged him to the compound, bloody nose and all. He doesn’t protest when Naruto finally pries his hands away from his face and starts kissing his face instead, too preoccupied with his thoughts.

They end up falling asleep like that, and when Sasuke wakes up at his usual early hour with Naruto still half on top of him, he can’t help a small smile. He does consider getting up, because he typically makes breakfast and he doesn’t want someone else to have to without notice, but then Naruto sleepily sighs against his chest and tucks a hand under his back, and Sasuke decides that maybe he could use a little more sleep.

Naruto is the one to properly wake up, an hour later, still atop Sasuke, and when he sees the time on the clock sitting next to their bed he rolls off Sasuke, jostles the other man awake.

Sasuke sits up before he’s really, fully awake, blearily stares at Naruto and says, “Yeah.”

“What?” Naruto stretches and, mid-stretch, is tackled back down on the bed by Sasuke.

“Yeah, I think I was in love with you then,” Sasuke says, the words a little blurry from sleep but perfectly coherent.

Naruto’s eyes go wide again, and when Sasuke kisses him, he is smiling.


End file.
